


Broadening My Horizons

by TwicetheTrouble



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bisexual Lance (Voltron), For the most part, M/M, because that's how i roll, because there wasn't enough of them, but he's awesome so its cool, follows cannon closely, healthy lancelot, hunk and lance r best bros, lotor teaches, more hunk than originally planned, more tags to come, my two favorite boys being cute, probably, so I made my own, they're going to be cute
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-02
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-07-23 18:59:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16164932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwicetheTrouble/pseuds/TwicetheTrouble
Summary: Lance has no idea how to use his new Altean Broadsword and with Keith gone there's really no one left to teach him. So he's left to figure it out himself until Lotor offers his services as a teacher, hoping to earn the skeptical boy's trust. Little to either of them know, that mutual trust isn't the only thing they will be getting.or, Lotor gives Lance swordsmanship lessons and they accidentally fall in love while doing so.





	1. Training Day 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! So...I really shouldn't be starting this right now. No joke. I've got too many fics i'm working on (or should be working on) yet here i am, having written 2,000 words to a brand new fic because my plot bunnies attacked early this morning. Anyways, I don't normally do a lot of Lancelot fics but i noticed there wasn't very many healthy Lancelot fics out there and my brain decided I needed to write one. So here's the beginning of it. I'm not sure how long its going to be. I'm hoping not very b/c I have other fics i'm currently working on that need my attention more. But taking a bit of a break for something new isn't always bad. And i'm really liking this idea for some reason.
> 
> also, on a completely different note, I have recently discovered that Hunk is an amazing character. Like I knew he was pretty cool before, but writing him in this fic just gave me a whole new view of the guys. Totally underappreciated, I tell you. He's so much fun to write! Anyways, on with your regularly scheduled program.
> 
>  
> 
> Hope you enjoy,
> 
> TBL

Lance held the red bayard out in front of him, the Altean broadsword still feeling heavy and awkward in his hands. Apparently just because you can make the bayard change forms, does not automatically give you the skills to use said new form. He wished it did because he felt like a child waving a large stick at recess.

The little target robots buzzed around him, making little beeps and swirls that sounded awfully reminiscent of taunting. If he was training with his rifle, those robots would have been eating their own beeps by now. But he wasn’t. And his sword was always just a tad too slow to catch these little bastards.

Lance tried again, swinging his sword at another incoming target. He was a second too late, allowing it to buzz by his head, chittering happily the entire way. He let out a frustrated groan as the end of his sword went to rest on the ground.

“You aren’t very good with that, are you?” A voice called out. Lance spun around, sword raised again to see Lotor leaning against the far wall like he had been there for a while. “Don’t you normally use a rifle?”

“If you must know, I’m broadening my horizons,” Lance said, straightening up to once again drop his sword to his side. He stood tall and confident, like that could make the other man forget his blundering a few moments earlier.

“With an Altean broadsword?” Lotor smirked lightly.

“Yes with an Altean broadsword!” he exclaimed back. He collected his composure to see Lotor raising an eyebrow at him, making the blue paladin deflate some. “It’s what my bayard gave me alright? And I’m going to learn to use this thing even if it kills me.”

“With the way you’ve been swinging it around, it most definitely will.”

“Look, I’m not going to figure this out any faster with you standing there sassing every move I make. So why don’t you just leave,” Lance shot back. He brought his sword back into a fighting position and began focusing on the targets once again.

He breathed in, letting it out slowly in order to focus himself on the task at hand and forget about the distraction against the back wall.

“I need to do this,” he muttered to himself. “I can’t stay this useless in close-range fights. I have to learn.”

“Well, you aren’t going to learn like that?” Lotor said again. Lance shot him a glair to see the other man pushing himself off the wall and strode towards him.

“Will you stop-“

“End training sequence,” Lotor interrupted, making the target bots disappear with a small bleep.

“Come on! I was using those.”

“Using a targeting exercise with a non-targeting weapon won’t teach you anything,” Lotor explained, pulling out his own sword as he made his way over to the blue paladin.

“What are you doing with that?” Lance took a step back wearily.

“I’m offering to be your instructor, if you really want to learn that is.” Lotor came to a stop a yard or so in front of Lance.

“I don’t need your help,” Lance said, eyes narrowing at the purple alien in front of him.

“Then who exactly are you going to learn from. Coran? The princess? Maybe the princess’s space mice spies?” Lotor inquired, making the other boy frown. “The only other person with any knowledge of swordplay is off running around with the Blades of Marmora. You don’t exactly have many options when it comes to instructors. I believe your little green friend said something along the lines of ‘beggars can’t be choosers’ which seems to match this situation quite well.”

“Does it look like I’m begging to you? I wasn’t asking for help. I can do this on my own, thank you very much.” Lance spun on his heals, turning away from Lotor in order to try his weapon once again. He then proceeded to almost jump clean out of his armor when a hand dropped lightly onto his shoulder.

“I would suggest using the gladiator for your sword training instead of the target bots,” Lotor said calmly next to his ear. “It won’t be as good as an instructor but it at least hits back.”

Lance stood frozen in the middle of the training room as Lotor removed his hand, his footsteps echoing off towards the door. His mind whirled, weighing the pros and cons of each option, and not exactly liking either of them. The blue paladin grumbled wordlessly to himself before turning back to face the door.

“Hey, walking Loreal commercial,” Lance called out, making Lotor stop only a few steps away from the door, his expression confused.

“You are talking to me, right?”

“Yeah, would you really teach me? Like legit, no messing around or stunting my progress, teach me?”

“Yes, I would,” Lotor replied. “You are my ally after all. Stunting your progress would be against everyone’s best interests.”

Lance eyed him suspiciously for a long moment, staying quiet as he tried to pick out any insincerities that could be present. He found nothing.

“I don’t trust you.” He stated simply. Lotor smirked lightly in response.

“Which is another reason I offered my services. I was hoping to possibly earn your trust like I had the rest of your team.”

“Yeah, that’s not going to happen.” Lance placed his empty hand on his hip in a cocky pose. “But I guess I can take you up on your training offer. Mostly because the last time we used the gladiator we almost ended up with a Keith-kabob so I’d rather not give it a chance to make a Lance-kabob too.”

“Very well,” Lotor said with a short, silent laugh as he strode back into the middle of the room. “But keep in mind that though I might not be looking to ‘make a Lance-kabob’, whatever that means, I won’t be going easy on you either.”

Lance gulped, raising his sword when Lotor did.

“Just don’t stab me with that thing and we’ll be cool.”

“Oh you don’t have to worry about that,” Lotor replied, getting into a ready stance. “This is much more of a slashing weapon anyways.”

“That’s not helping dude. Like at all.” Lance stepped back wearily, not liking where this was going.

“Ready stance, paladin. Your lessons start now.”

“You know what? I think I forgot something in the locker room so I can’t. Too bad really, I -EEP!”

Lance barely got his sword up in time to block Lotor’s strike.

“That was a good block. A little sloppy, but not bad,” Lotor complimented with a smile that Lance didn’t exactly trust.

“Thank?”

“Now dodge.”

 

-

 

“I’m dead. I’m dying. I’m gonna die!” Lance whined into the kitchen counter. He was perched on a stool with his upper body flopped on the surface in front of him. Arms outstretched and face flat against its cold, metallic surface.

Hunk was cooking something next to him, not even bothered by the other boy taking up half his workspace.

“Is there, like, a reason you’re ‘dying’ this time or are you missing Netflix again?” Hunk asked, never looking up from his creation.

“Don’t remind me! I never did finish _The Dragon Prince_ before we left. There’s things I needed to know, damn it!” Lance flailed dramatically only to instantly regret it. “Oww.”

“So it _was_ Netflix again?”

“I wish. I’m legit dying this time. No exaggeration needed. Just me, slowly dying on your kitchen counter.”

“Ok, I’ll bite. What are you dying of?”

“Everything hurts man. Everything! Even my hair. I don’t know how that works but it’s definitely a thing.” Lance said, trying his best not to move again. It was hard, considering how much he normally talked with his hands.

Hunk looked up finally, glancing at his companion. He seemed to take in the Cuban boy’s ruffled appearance before turning back towards the food.

“And why exactly are you in pain? I mean, you look like you did after you tried to beat Keith in the training arena so is it safe to assume you fought someone?”

“Yeah, kinda,” Lance muttered, focusing his attention on the countertop in front of him.

“So who was it?” Hunk asked. Lance stayed silent, making the yellow paladin roll his eyes. “Well, it wasn’t me, I would have known. Keith isn’t exactly here so can’t have been him. Pidge was too busy, and Shiro doesn’t like versing us in matches. That would leave Allura, Coran, or Lotor.”

There was a long strand of silence that Lance didn’t want to break. Luckily he didn’t have to since Hunk had come to his own conclusion pretty quick.

“Oh no, you fought Lotor didn’t you?”

“Kinda.”

“How is it ‘kinda’? I’m pretty sure there’s no kinda’. I mean, you can’t just ‘kinda’ punch someone in the face or something like that. You either fought him or not, and you definitely fought him, didn’t you?” Hunk asked. When Lance didn’t answer, Hunk sighed. “You shouldn’t be fighting him. He’s an ally. And just because Keith’s not around for you to pick on, doesn’t mean you should start the same thing with the only other Galra hybrid on the ship. That’s bad manners. And kind of racist.”

“It’s not like that. And it wasn’t an actual fight. It was sword training. But training in Galra must mean beating the trainee with a sword until they learn to fight back because that’s all that bastard did!” Lance threw his arms in the air only to flop back down onto the counter with another painful groan. “I’m gonna die.”

“Wait, he’s teaching you? Like honest to God, Mr. Miyagi type stuff, but with a sword?” Hunk asked, pausing in his work once again.

“If Mr. Miyagi’s only teaching method was swinging a sword at you shouting ‘DODGE!’”

“That’s tough man, real tough.” Hunk nodded sympathetically. “Wait, I thought you didn’t trust the guy? Why are learning swords from him if you don’t trust him? Did something change while I wasn’t looking?”

“Nah man, I still don’t trust him. But it was either he ‘teaches’ me or I try my hand against the gladiator, and you know what that means.”

“Ah yes, the almost-Keith-kabob. If there was ever such thing as an unappetizing kabob, it would have been that.”

“Hear, hear!” Lance held up an imaginary cup, which was accompanied by a small groan. “Hunk, do me a favor and kill me. It’s the only way.”

“Don’t do it. He still owes me twenty bucks from that night we played the Altean version of poker,” Pidge pipped up. She jumped up onto the stool next to Lance, propping one of her computers onto the counter and started working once again. “So, what’s with the theatrics today? Did something remind you of _the Dragon Prince_?”

“They’re too young and cute and innocent to be sent on such a quest! Why does it have to be them that’s put into danger? Why?!”

“There, there,” Hunk said, patting his friend lightly on the head. “I’m sure the princes will be just fine. And their little friends too.”

“Sooo, it wasn’t _the Dragon Prince_?” Pidge asked, raising a questioning eyebrow.

“Nope, well now it is but it wasn’t before. You see he-“

Lance swatted at Hunk to get his attention, shaking his head while Pidge wasn’t looking. For some reason, he really didn’t want the whole ship knowing that he was taking swordsmanship lessons from Lotor of all people. Even though there really wasn’t anyone else to learn from. Hunk’s eyebrows knotted together but he seemed to get the message regardless.

“Uh, he was training on the training deck and overdid it. So now he’s like super sore or something like that. He’ll be fine, I’m sure.”

“Well, that’s what happens when you try to be Keith,” Pidge stated simply, not looking away from her computer.

“Hey! I’m not trying to be Keith!”

“You pilot his old lion. Use his old bayard. You’re now trying to learn how to sword with it. And have been spending every waking moment in Keith’s old stomping grounds to do it. You’re trying to be Keith.”

“No I’m not!” Lance exclaimed. “Hunk, tell her I’m not.”

“Um, you kind of are,” Hunk said hesitantly. Lance gaped at him before turning his face into the countertop.

“Traitor.”

“Love you too, buddy.”

“I hate you both.”


	2. Training Day 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEy everyone! Guess who can't stop writing this fic? Me. I feel like i'm giving you guys a very bad view of my normal writing time since it usually takes me 2-3 weeks to write this much. I also feel like I may be moving these boys a little fast, but it may just be me. I tend to do a lot of super slow burn romance in fics so having one like is the equivalent of driving in a race car when i'm used to a riding lawnmower.
> 
>  
> 
> Hope you enjoy,
> 
> TBL

“This isn’t working!” Lance exclaimed from where he landed on the floor only a moment ago. He had no intention of moving because if he moved he’d just end up back on the floor again. “It’s been days! I’m not getting any better at this.”

“Days?” Lotor questioned. Lance heard his approaching footsteps before the purple alien was looking down at him from next to his head.

“Quintants.” Lance corrected, getting a nod in return. “It’s been quintants and you’re still moping the floor with me.”

“Well, it will take more than a few quintants to get to my level. Honestly, it would take more than a few deca-phebes as well.”

“Yeah yeah, you’re good with a sword. I noticed that thank you very much,” Lance said as Lotor knelt down next to him. “I’m not trying to get to your level, I just want to be competent. And not getting knocked to the floor ever five dobashs would be pretty sweet too.”

“You are getting better though. I mean, your dodging has already improved greatly.”

“Every time I hear the word ‘dodge’ I have the sudden urge to dive out of the way thanks to you.” Lance glared at Lotor who only smiled back. “I damn near ended up under the kitchen table when Hunk and Pidge were talking about brands of pickup trucks.”

“I am unsure what a pickup truck is, or what it has to do with dodging, but I’m glad it elicits that sort of response,” Lotor said. “Dodging is a very important piece of swordplay. Especially if you want to win. If you can dodge your opponent’s attack then it’s possible to get them while they’re forced to follow through with the unconnected strike. You can easily throw an inexperienced swordsman off their game simply by not being where they expect you to be.”

“Yeah, you’ve said. Still doesn’t make it any easier to explain to Pidge why I’m suddenly halfway under the table, wielding a fork for defense.”

Lotor chuckled lightly, a sound Lance was not used to hearing from the taller man.

“Ah yes, how I wish I was there to witness that,” Lotor said, before returning to business. “As for your apparent balance problem, I would suggest you try to focus more on your footwork. The more solid that is the less likely you are to fall while you fight.”

“And how am I supposed to be focusing on my footwork if I have to dodge your attacks all the time?” Lance threw his hands in the air, barely missing Lotor’s face in the process. “I’m not even sure what the right footwork _is_ for this sort of thing. All I know is that I’m doing what I do with my rifle but it’s not working.”

“Of course it’s not. Those are two separate weapons, and two completely different fighting styles. You should be treating them as such.”

“But I don’t know how!”

Lotor sighed before straightening up from his crouch.

“Alright then, I suppose we’ll work on that for the rest of our time here today,” Lotor stated, putting his own sword away as he motioned for Lance to get up. “Come on, we don’t have all day after all.”

“What are we doing?” Lance narrowed his eyes skeptically, propping his upper body up on his elbows to keep Lotor in his sights.

“You’re getting up,” Lotor stated. “And then we’re going to make sure those feet of yours learn where they’re supposed to stand while you’re wielding your sword.”

“I’m not going to get knocked back to the floor while we’re doing this, am I?”

“If you listen and do as I say, not at all.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Then I make no such promises.”

Lance didn’t even get to answer before Lotor grabbed one of his hands and was pulling him to his feet. As it was, he barely got his feet under him in time to keep from falling back on his ass.

“Alright, show me your stance, paladin.” Lotor took a step back, giving Lance some room. Lance groaned but did as he said, moving his feet a bit apart while holding is sword out in front of him. “Is this the stance you’ve been using all along?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Then it’s no wonder you’ve been falling so much. In fact, I’m quite surprised you’ve been able to stay on your feet at all over the last few quintants.”

“Hey!” Lance turned to face him only for Lotor to straighten his shoulders forward once again.

“Don’t face your whole body towards the enemy. It gives them more of a target,” Lotor scolded. He then used one of his foot to knock Lance’s back a few inches before using it again to tap the inside of his knee, causing it to bend. “Keep your stance wide and close to the ground. That will keep your center of gravity lower and thus harder to knock down.”

“Better?” Lance asked wryly, watching Lotor walk around him to examine his stance further. He didn’t say anything as he disappeared from Lance’s sight, stopping right behind the blue paladin.

“Almost,” Lotor stated. His hand appeared over Lance’s, helping him to move the sword into a better position. “Keep the blade at about this angle instead of flat, or straight up and down. It covers more surface area and allows you to counter easier for almost any angle.”

“Oh, ok,” Lance stated, eyeing Lotor from over his shoulder. The other man was very close, maybe only a foot or two away as he tweaked Lance’s sword arm position a little more. He was definitely close enough for him to notice that the alien’s eyes were actually a really pretty shade of blue. He was just trying to remember if he’d ever seen that shade before when Lotor caught him staring.

“You should also focus a little more on your pretend target then you currently are,” he said with a smirk. Lance’s head snapped forward if only to hide the light blush that was forming. “Distraction could prove fatal after all.”

“I wasn’t distracted!”

“Of course you weren’t.” Lotor stepped away, circling around Lance once more before stopping back in front of him. “There, that seems to be an adequate stance for now at least. We can modify it as you advance.”

“Ok, what next?” Lance straightened out of his crouch only to earn a swat from the flat side of Lotor’s newly rematerialized blade. “Hey! What’s that for?”

“Back in your stance, Paladin. I didn’t say you could get up yet.”

Lance pouted as he returned to his stance. Lotor quickly tweaked it again before going back to where he was standing moments before.

“Stay there until I say otherwise. It is necessary that you become accustom to this stance now otherwise you’ll never think to use it on the battlefield,” Lotor explained.

“And how long will that take? My legs are already starting to hurt.”

“I’d say until the end of the session.”

“Are you kidding me?!” Lance exclaimed. “We still have almost two hours left!”

Lotor hummed in thought, giving Lance hope that he was reconsidering.

“You’re right about that. Two vargas,” Lotor said, still looking deep in thought. “Yes, unfortunately that isn’t going to be enough time. I may have to put this in tomorrow’s session as well. I can have you do it before the back and forth drills.”

“Do I want to know what back and forth drills are?”

“Well, I’m not sure what the official name for them is, but that’s where you go from a normal stance, to your sword stance, and then back again. Repeatedly.” Lotor used his sword to lightly swat Lance’s leg once again. “Stay low to the ground.”

“Are you trying to kill me?!”

“Quite the opposite actually. Now, stay low, paladin.”

“Lance,” he corrected, getting a raised eyebrow in response. “Call me Lance.”

“Very well, Lance,” Lotor said. He said his name slowly, as if he were seeing how it felt on his tongue. He nodded to himself, turning his attention towards the paladin once again. “And, just so we’re clear, allowing me use of your name will not get you out of this exercise.”

“That’s not what I was doing!” Lance protested. “I’m just tired of being called paladin all the damn time. I’m more than just a part of Voltron. I’m a person. With a name. And most of the alliance seems to forget that so I’d really rather you not. If we’re going to continue training together for three hou- vargas every day then you an at least use my name while we do it.”

Lotor paused for a moment, watching Lance critically for a time. Before Lance could even figure out what he was thinking, Lotor’s sword snapped out to swat his leg again.

“HEY-“

“Focus, Lance.”

Lance snapped his mouth shut mid complaint, opting instead to crouch lower once again. He fought to keep a smile off his face. He didn’t need their once enemy knowing happy he was to hear him say his name. Even if it was just because it was someone other than his team using it. And no other reason. None, what-so-ever.

“You’re not focusing at all, are you?” Lotor asked.

“I am too!” Lance exclaimed. Lotor reached over to correct his stance yet again with an accompanying sigh.

“This is going to be a long couple vargas. I can tell.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's my [tumblr](https://tblsomestories.tumblr.com/) in you feel like checking it out


	3. Training Day 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Resisting Rest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Another chapter! Holy shit! Anyways, I'm currently using this fic to get my daily word count up in prep for NaNoWriMo so i'll be working on this for at least the next few weeks. I will be taking a break when november comes tho (if i'm not done by then...and I probably wont be) since I'll be working on my main fic for that time. That is all. PSA over. U can go back to reading this new chapter now.
> 
>  
> 
> Hope you enjoy,
> 
> TBL

Lotor watched as Lance all but dragged himself into the training room half a varga after their assigned start time. The blue paladin looked like he were only mere moments away from passing out, which, in his case, seemed like it might be a good thing.

“You’re late,” Lotor said from his place in the middle of the room. His arms crossed against his chest as Lance’s eyes sluggishly raised to meet his. The boy took a few tics to process Lotor’s words before sighing in defeat.

“Yeah well, I was a little busy sucker punching a God damned forest to save a planet so I think I have a valid excuse,” Lance said. He slumped across the training room floor, miraculously making it to where Lotor was.

“Ah yes, the Olkari had some trouble planet side today, didn’t they?” Lotor said. Lance nodded in response but adding nothing. “How did that go, by the way?”

“Good. Bad. Just weird. I’m not really sure, to be honest.” Lance unceremoniously flopped to the floor, waving a single hand dismissively as he spoke. “I mean we won. Obviously. But it was trippy as hell.”

“’Trippy as hell’?” Lotor repeated curiously.

“’Trippy’ is like when you eat/drink/smoke something that effects your brain so you start seeing weird shit that’s not there. But it’s usually used when you see weird stuff but you didn’t take anything. And ‘as hell’ just means it was at the extreme end of the scale.”

“I understand now.” Lotor smirked lightly as he crouched down to be on his level once again. He found these human sayings surprisingly entertaining, if not interesting in their own right. Definitely worth looking into later on. “And what made this particular fight like you were hallucinating on a very powerful scale?”

“You mean other than the fact that you just made ‘trippy as hell’ sound eloquent?” Lance inquired, but didn’t give Lotor a chance to answer. Instead opting to lean back on his hands and kept talking.  “For one, we were fighting a hacked alien forest. And were losing. Then in our drive to defeat it we all Voltron-ed so hard we shot ourselves into the astral plane or some shit like that. But of course, Shiro _had to_ show up late, and only after the four of us practically begged him too. I swear, he’s more dramatic than me sometimes, he’s just subtle about it.”

“You don’t say,” Lotor stated, an amused smile still on his face. Lance’s arms had been sliding away from his body as he spoke, subsequently inching him lower and lower towards the ground. He was now completely on the floor, his arms resting straight out at ninety-degree angles.

“Yeah, it’s true,” Lance continued, his eyes half closed as he stared at the ceiling. “What was really weird was that Shiro had been trying to tell me something but I didn’t hear him. And then I asked him about it and he doesn’t even remember the astral plane. I mean, how can you not remember that? It’s all purple and endless and shit. Kinda hard to forget.”

“I’d imagine so,” Lotor said. “Sounds like quite the exhausting mission. Maybe we should cancel today’s lesson.”

“Nah, I’m cool. Still good for some practice.”

“I’m not so sure about that.”

“You’re just afraid I’ll beat you,” Lance said, though the truly impressive yawn that broke up his sentence told Lotor otherwise.

“Regardless, you’re much too exhausted to be training today. I insist you go rest so you can be ready for tomorrow’s tasks.”

“Can’t,” Lance mumbled, his eyes completely shut now. “I need to get better. Can’t be the weak link anymore.”

Lotor sighed, shaking his head. Sometimes he just didn’t understand this man, and he had the distinct feeling that he never really would.

“For one, I highly doubt you are, or ever have been, the weak link in your team. Just because your skill set is different than your piers doesn’t make it any worse,” Lotor explained slowly. He wanted to make sure Lance understood him perfectly so there was no place for miscommunication. “For another, taking a break every-so-often actually helps your development more than constant training. It gives your brain time to process what you learned and your body time to recover from the strain. So, go back to your room and rest. We will pick up our training again tomorrow.”

There was no answer from the blue paladin. Lotor sighed once again, he didn’t like being ignored.

“Lance, go back to bed. You need the rest.”

Again, there was no response.

“Lance.” Lotor reached over, poking the man’s side with the butt of his blade, expecting to get a response. What he didn’t expect was for that response to be a short snore. He stared at Lance flatly for a long moment, barely able to believe this was happening.

“You’re….already asleep? How can you be already asleep? You were just talking and now you’re asleep?” Lotor looked up, exasperated. “You didn’t hear a word I said, did you?”

Lance, of course, didn’t say anything.

“Of course you didn’t.” Lotor rubbed the back of his neck as he looked back at the sleeping paladin in the middle of the training room floor. It didn’t look like he was going to be waking up anytime soon. He assumed Lance would be out for the rest of the quintant judging by how much quintessence he no doubt used today. And he really didn’t want to just leave him where he was. It could worry someone, seeing one of the paladins passed out, alone, on the training deck. Lotor would rather not cause such unnecessary concern.

“Alright, up you go,” Lotor stated, carefully scooping Lance into his arms before climbing to his feet. “Can’t leave you here after all.”

He shuffled the surprisingly light human in his arms until he was in a more comfortable position. Lance didn’t even twitch, which as more a testament to how exhausted he was then Lotor’s semi-careful handling.

Lotor strode across the room and out the door, stopping in the hallway when a thought seemed to strike him.

“You wouldn’t care to tell me where your room is on this maze of a ship, would you?” Lotor asked, looking down at Lance expectantly. There was no answer. “I thought not. I suppose I’ll figure it out for myself. Maybe I’ll be lucky and it will have a sign.”

He continued down the hallway again, the only sound being that of his feet taping against the tiles. He made his way towards the cafeteria, thinking that it would be the best place to start from. It was the central hub of their social lives so he had a feeling that maybe their rooms would be located close by. He knew that the paladins’ rooms were all in the same area but not much more than that since his own quarters were still located in the prison section. Which was inconvenient but fairly understandable.

Lotor’s gaze kept getting drawn to Lance as he traversed the hallways. It was strangely fascinating to him how much more peaceful the paladin looked while he slept. He was used to seeing him tense, whether it was from battle or their daily lessons. Even while he was spending time with his team, usually laughing at something one of them said, there was an underlaying bit of tension that was hardly noticeable. It was like he was always prepared for some sort of attack to go down, which made sense. He was a paladin of Voltron after all, that background vigilance was something he would have had to learn quick or have suffered for it.

But sleeping Lance had none of that in his expression. He was just Lance. While sleeping. And Lotor was man enough to admit that it was actually quite cute.

It wasn’t long before the two were passing the cafeteria, continuing down the corridor in search for the normal sleeping quarters. A few wrong turns and a couple dead ends later, Lotor finally found one that looks vaguely hospitable. This one at least looked like it was used sometime in the last ten deca-phebes. He slowed his pace, examining each door to see if it might be hiding the blue paladin’s room behind it. He had just turned to the forth or fifth door when he couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Of course you’d have a sign,” Lotor murmured, smirking at the ripped piece of loose leaf with the words “Lance’s room! No mullets allowed!” in large, crooked lettering.

Still smiling, he moved Lance’s hand to cover the scanner, which opened the door with a small green light and a hiss. It was a small room, not much different than Lotor’s own. It was basically only a bunk and a desk with a small bathroom attached off to the side. It was surprisingly tidy as well, except for the strange contraption that seemed to be spread out on the floor, taking much of the foot room. He could easily recognize Pidge’s odd but effective style of work among its parts, which only made him quite curious as to what it did, and why Lance had it.

Lotor shrugged the question away. It wasn’t like he was going to be getting an answer for that anytime soon. The room’s owner was asleep after all.

So he carefully made his way over to the bunk, making sure not to step on any of the strange devise’s mismatched components. He then, even more carefully, set Lance down, insuring the man’s head didn’t flop as he did so. Lance was securely on the bed when the prince’s hand accidentally brushed against the paladin’s hair, making him pause.

It was soft. Much softer than Lotor expected. Most short hair he’d encountered up until now had felt coarse to the touch, even when his own had been at that length. But his wasn’t. His hand was maybe an inch away from petting the paladin’s head when he stopped himself. Lance was sleeping. Touching someone while they sleep, even if it was just their hair, was inappropriate to say the least.

Lotor retracted his hand with a sigh, even going so far as to take a step back from the paladin. He had a weakness for soft hair and pretty faces, and this man definitely had both of those going for him.

He shook his head, dispelling the thought before it could start wandering unchecked. That was not something he needed right now. He had plans to follow through with, and those plans didn’t involve getting romantically attached to the blue paladin.

Instead he wondered if he should remove the armored parts of Lance’s suit, only to dismiss that thought just as quickly. If touching his hair was bad, that would probably be worse. So he carefully navigated himself out of the room, turning down the lights before exiting. He figured he’d mention to one of Lance’s team that he passed out in his flight suit so one of them would help. Probably the yellow paladin. He and Lance seemed to be the closest after all.

“So, care to explain why you were in Lance’s room?” A voice asked from the prince’s right. He glanced over to see said yellow paladin standing there as if Lotor had accidentally summoned him through thought alone. He looked just as tired as Lance had, but was in his everyday attire, with the addition of a slightly stained apron and a large serving spoon.

“Nothing nefarious, I assure you. I was simply dropping him off after he decided the training room floor was a good place to sleep,” Lotor explained. He was acutely aware of how Hunk was holding his spoon like one would a blunt weapon, and it was honestly a bit intimidating. More so than the large gun his bayard normally transformed into.

“Uh huh, yup. That’s totally believable. And by that, I mean not believable at all. It was sarcasm. Just so you know.”

“That much I picked up on, thank you.”

“What I mean is that you spent too long in there just to drop him off and leave.”

“Well, there is a fairly large machine taking up much of his walking space. Needless to say it was a bit difficult to navigate,” Lotor said, watching Hunk’s eyes stay narrowed on him. He sighed. “That is the truth. You can see for yourself if you do not believe me. He’s even still in his armor since I thought it inappropriate to remove it for him.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve seen the way you look at him during meal times. I mean I can’t read your facial expression or anything but you look at him much more than anyone else at the table so that must mean something,” Hunk rambled, still gripping his spoon fairly tightly. “All I’m saying is don’t mess with him. He’s my best friend so just leave him alone.”

“That would be a little difficult considering I’m training him.”

“You know what I mean,” Hunk said, looking more serious than he normally does.

“I have no intentions for your friend other than to train him, I assure you.” Lotor took a few steps away from Lance’s door if only to prove his point.

“Yeah sure.” Hunk walked up to Lance’s door, scanning his own hand to gain access. He sent a stern glair back at Lotor. “I’m watching you.”

The yellow paladin made a strange hand gesture that used two fingers pointing at his own eyes before pointing them towards Lotor. He made it again before the door shut, leaving Lotor alone and bewildered in the hallway.

“Well, that was an eventful.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's my [tumblr](https://tblsomestories.tumblr.com/) in you feel like checking it out.


	4. Training Day 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Promise made

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! So it seems I'm back to an almost normal writing schedule, which is good. Better then loosing the will to write completely after such a writing frenzy.
> 
>  
> 
> Anyways, Hope you enjoy,
> 
> TBL

“Dodge,” Lotor said.

Despite the fact that his tone was nowhere near urgent, Lance immediately threw himself out of the way. Lotor’s blade missed him by mere inches as the blue paladin returned to his increasingly familiar stance and launched himself at his opponent. It didn’t quite go as planned. Instead of landing his blow, Lotor was still able to not only block Lance while in mid-follow-through, but disarm him as well.

“Better,” Lotor stated, lowering his blade to allow Lance to collect his. “You’re dodge was a little sloppy. You shouldn’t need to leave the stance to move, that’s the whole point of it. And your counter attack was slow and very predictable. But you were able to recover your stance quickly as well as keep yourself on your feet, which is a very good start.”

“Yay, just what I want to hear,” Lance muttered to himself as he collected his bayard off the ground.

“You’re doing well. Better than most after only a movement,” Lotor stated.

“Not well enough.” Lance activated his bayard, staring at the Altean broadsword for a long moment as he spoke. “There’s still a war still going on out there. I have to be ready for it.”

“Putting that sort of pressure on yourself won’t make you learn any faster,” Lotor said. Lance swished his sword to his side before looking up at the other man. “In fact, training too much will make you get worse.”

“Yeah, whatever. Let’s go again.” Lance raised his weapon, dropping into his stance as he waited for Lotor to follow suit. He didn’t. Instead he checked one of the training room’s clocks.

“Unfortunately, it looks like our time here is over.” Lotor deactivated his weapon as Lance stared at him in shock.

“But it’s only been a varga! We still have two left!” He exclaimed, sword tip dropping in his distraction.

“Well then, I suppose you can do your solo drills for the last two,” Lotor said, starting towards the door. “I would focus on the ones involving footwork. Once that’s solid everything else will fall into place quite nicely.”

“Hey! Where are you going?” Lance asked, following the prince as he walked.

“Somewhere very important.”

“What’s so important about it?”

“My species’ entire existence relies on it.”

“How’s that?”

“It is very difficult to explain and I really don’t have the time to do so.”

They were almost to the door when Lance had enough and stepped in front of Lotor. The white-haired man raised an annoyed eyebrow but stayed silent.

“Then make some,” Lance said slowly, punctuating each word. Lotor’s eyes narrowed for a few seconds before letting out a dramatic sigh and shaking his head.

“Very well,” Lotor said. “But only because you’re being cute about it.”

“What-?”

“Now, where I’m going is a bit of a secret so you’re going to have to promise me that you won’t tell the rest of your team about it,” Lotor stated, waving a finger to ascent his words. “They will figure it out eventually, that I don’t doubt, but you have to promise not to be the one to tell them.”

“Um, why?”

“Because it’s important.” Lotor leaned forward, bending down to meet Lance’s gaze with a smirk on his face. “And because I asked you not to.”

Lance frowned, his mind perplexed. He didn’t trust Lotor with his pocket lint, and he was pretty sure Lotor thought the same of him. Their training routine had made things not as strained between the two but he still wasn’t sure if he should be keeping secrets for the guy. Especially if that meant keeping them from his team as well.

“So? What are you going to do?” Lotor inquired, eyes still locked with Lance’s. “Are you going to promise me or be forced to live?”

“Yeah fine,” Lance said, giving into the curiosity that was eating at him. “I promise not to tell anyone about where you’re going.”

“Good.” Lotor’s smirk turned into a full-size grin before he straightened up. “And with that out of the way, I can tell you that I’m going to Fayiv.”

“Fayiv? What’s that?” The name sounded familiar to Lance, but it took him a few seconds to place why. “Wait, isn’t it that Galra planet that Allura doesn’t want you going to. The one with the ‘Kill Siri’ coronation thing?”

“Kral Zera, yes.”

“But Allura said-“

“The princess may rule this castle but she does not rule me,” Lotor said flatly. “She doesn’t understand what is at stake here. I do.”

“So why is it that important that you’re going to risk getting the shit kicked out of you buy Allura?” Lance asked, crossing his arms. Lotor’s lip twitched in amusement but for the most part stayed serious.

“Blood lines matter little as far as succession goes. The one that lights the brazier at the top of the stairs becomes emperor. Who does it, or how it happens has little effect on the outcome.” Lotor explained. “If we want peace with the Galra empire then I have to be the next emperor. That means I have to be the one lighting that brazier, whether through coercion or brute force.”

He paused for a moment, letting Lance think through the information he was given. When Lance was ready, he continued.

“Hagar will be bringing someone she endorses for the next Emperor. And I have little doubt that if I’m not there, that person will win.” Lotor’s voice took on a stony tone, making him seem cold for the first time in a while. “The last thing we need right now is another one of her puppets sitting on the throne. I have to be there, if only to insure she cannot sink her teeth into the next emperor like she did my father.”

“Why didn’t you explain how serious this is to Allura? I’m sure she would have agreed if she knew?”

“I have tried,” Lotor sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Your princess may be a good leader, but she is an Altean one. She knows little of the Galra race and even less about their politics. She seems to think that it will work out peacefully like it would have on her own planet. But that is not the case.”

“Oh. If it’s that bad, shouldn’t you be leaving?” Lance asked. Lotor chuckled lightly, a gentle smile spreading across his face that did funny things to Lance’s heart. Funny things he was ignoring but it definitely wasn’t a thing that was happening right now.

“Yes, I should. Thank you for reminding me.”

Lance stepped aside, giving Lotor access to the door once again.

“Wait,” Lance called, making Lotor stop right before opening the door. “How are you getting to the Kral Zera?”

“I have my ways.” Lotor opened the door with a smirk, revealing a fully armored Shiro standing on the other side. The black paladin seemed to start upon seeing Lance in the room.

“Oh, Lance. I was just…um…” Shiro scrambled for an excuse as Lotor walked past him and down the hall.

“He’s fine,” Lotor said, waving a hand dismissively. “We’re going to be late if we waste any more time.”

“Right. We should go,” Shiro said, following the prince, leaving Lance standing in the doorway staring in shock.

 

-

 

Two hours later, Lance was still in the training room, practicing his foot work like was suggested. Though he kept it interesting by doing his drills around a stationary target, occasionally sending a strike it’s way. It, not only, gave him a good workout but it distracted him from what Lotor was currently doing. For the most part anyways.

“You’re getting fairly good with that,” A voice called out. Lance all but jumped out of his skin as he spun around to see Allura walking towards him. Suddenly all that he was distracting himself with came right back to mind. It did not make him very eager to talk to the princess.

“Um…with what?” Lance asked, shifting from foot to foot trying to dispel some of the nervous energy that had suddenly appeared.

“The sword?” Allura chuckled as she approached, coming to a stop in front of the blue paladin. “You’re getting quite good with it.”

“Oh yeah, thanks. I’ve been…practicing.” Lance winced, the excuse sounding lame to even his own ears but Allura didn’t seem to notice.

“And it shows.” Allura smiled at him as he busied himself with putting his bayard away.

“Well I’m done with that. For today anyways. So I’m going to go. You can have the training deck all to yourself. I’ll even leave my friend, Bob, out for you to practice on. He’s pretty good at taking a hit.” Lance patted the dummy on the shoulder a few times.

“I’m sure he is,” Allura agreed. “But I’m not here for that. I was wondering if you had seen Shiro lately. He was supposed to be helping us with some projects but none of us seem to be able to locate him.”

Lance tensed up, trying to keep his expression neutral. Of course she’d come and ask about the one thing he wasn’t supposed to tell her. Don’t get him wrong, he really wanted to tell her. She should know where her paladin and possible ally went off to do under her very nose. But he had made a promise. And Lance wasn’t one to break his promises. Especially after hearing how serious the situation really was. Lotor hadn’t had a chance to explain it well the first time, but after hearing the rest…Well, he suppose he could give the guy as much time as he could before the cavalry showed up to either save the day.

“Nope,” Lance said, popping the P as he placed his hands behind his head, feigning a relaxed pose. “Haven’t seen him since breakfast.”

“That is concerning. You don’t happen to have an idea where he might be then, do you?”

“Not a clue.”

Allura sighed in defeat.

“Alright. Thank you anyways,” Allura said, heading towards the door. “Oh, and keep up the good work. You’re doing great.”

“Thanks princess.” Lance’s chest swelled up with pride at her praise, walking a few inches taller as he headed towards the showers. Normally he’d use his own but he was pretty sure that they’d find out about Lotor and Shiro’s little trip sooner rather than later. Which meant that if he wanted any sort of shower before that, it better be quick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's my [tumblr](https://tblsomestories.tumblr.com/) in you feel like checking it out.


	5. Training Day 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, sorry this is a little late. Been a bit crazy and this chapter ended up giving me a bit of trouble. Anyways, here it is. Be warned, the last 600 words or so aren't exactly edited since I just sat down and wrote them right now. (I was going to do it last night but I fell asleep with the computer still on my lap.) I'll probably edit it tonight but I really wanted this out now so here you go!
> 
> Just so you all know, i'm going to be taking a break from this fic for NaNoWriMo since I want my other fic to be the main focus of that. So I'm going to try to do one more chapter after this one (b/c i really like what I have planned for that one) and then you probably won't hear from me for a bit.
> 
> Anyways, with that out of the way,
> 
>  
> 
> Hope you enjoy,
> 
> TBL

Lotor stared at Lance for a long time, not quite believing what he had heard. Lance shifted from foot to foot, under the weight of it, trying to ignore the prince but was having difficulty doing so.

The two had just ended their training session for the day, and were about to leave when Lotor asked a question, and seemed taken aback by the answer. Like that wasn’t the answer he was expecting in the slightest.

“Apologies, I must have misheard you,” Lotor said as Lance finished off his water packet. “Who did you end up telling yesterday?”

“No one,” Lance answered again.

Lotor closed his eyes as he pinched his nose. He looked sort of frustrated but Lance figured he must be wrong. The Galra prince, or he supposed now, Emperor, was never frustrated.

“You told no one,” Lotor asked slowly.

“Yeah, no one. I’ve told you this three times now. Is it really that hard to comprehend?”

“Didn’t someone come looking for one of us?”

“Yeah, of course. You were gone a while.”

“Then what did you tell them?”

“That I hadn’t seen you since breakfast,” Lance shrugged as he tossed the empty pouch into the trash. “Your secret’s safe, or as safe as it can be since everyone else figured it out. So, I guess, not very safe? Either way they didn’t hear it from me.”

“Why not?” Lotor demanded, startling Lance. Lotor was definitely frustrated now. Even Lance could tell that, just not why. “Why didn’t anyone hear it from you?”

“Because you asked me not to?” Lance explained, unsure why he was being asked. “That’s how secrets and promises work. Someone promises to keep a secret and they don’t tell anyone about it. As far as the rest of the world’s concerned they don’t know it either because they won’t tell anyone about it.”

Lotor frowned, looking like he was trying to solve an incredibly difficult problem with only his mind and something wasn’t adding up.

“Umm…do they not work like that for Galra?” Lance asked after a moment, getting Lotor’s attention once again. He watched the blue paladin for quite some time before letting out an exasperated sigh.

“No, they do not.” Lotor ran a hand through his hair, which didn’t distract Lance in the slightest. “The level of secrecy you just exhibited was something associated more with a blood oath or, at the very least, having sworn on one’s honor. Definitely not for a mere promise.”

“A promise is a pretty serious deal where I come from. If you promise to keep a secret, you better be prepared to do so.” Lance leaned against the wall, ignoring how Lotor was watching him explain. “I mean, if it’s a business deal then there’s usually some sort of paperwork. And if you want to make extra sure your person keeps their promise, then you make them swear an oath. But promises aren’t to be sneezed at either.”

“ _Promises_ ,” Lotor put extra emphasis on the word, “mean next to nothing for Galra. You can make a thousand promises to a single person and neither of you would be surprised if none of them hold. They are only used as place holders for blood oaths and to test loyalties.”

“Oh, that’s odd. Wait,” Lance paused as he thought through the information given. “You were testing _me_?”

“Indeed.”

“Why?!” Lance exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.

“You presented me with the opportunity to adequately gauge whether this movement of training has helped me earn your trust,” Lotor explained as calmly as possible. “And, as a person who prefers to know exactly where I stand, I was not about to let such a thing pass.”

“So you tested me.”

“Yes.”

“I must have done pretty well on that test then, hmm?” Lance smirked confidently at Lotor, getting a flat gaze in response.

“Not even close.”

“Why not!?” Lance demanded, straightening up from his spot on the wall.

“Because you were supposed to tell someone,” Lotor stressed.

“But that would mean I wasn’t trustworthy.”

“No, that would mean you were the right amount of trustworthy.” Lotor began passing as he explained, giving Lance the occasional exasperated glair as he did. “Had you went shouting through the halls that the black paladin and I were leaving the moment I walked out of the room, you wouldn’t have been trustworthy at all. Had you calmly gone to Allura that same moment, you would have been a little more trustworthy, but not very much. Both of which were options I considered, but were most likely not what you were going to do.”

“Then what did you expect me to do?”

“I expected that you would keep quiet about my activities until asked and then inform your superiors about our already progressing plans. Or, at the very least, waited until your standard training session was done and then gone to inform the princess. That would have told me that you trusted me enough to be considered an ally, if not a friend.”

“Well, I don’t know about-“

“Instead,” Lotor said, boldly interrupting Lance before he could finish. “You kept it the entire day. And have yet told anyone about it despite everyone knowing already. That level of trust is far beyond mere friendship or alliances. That sort of trust is reserved for close kin or…”

Lotor’s words trailed off as he abruptly stopped his passing. He stared at the wall for quite some time in complete silence as Lance waited for him to continue. When he didn’t, he continued himself.

“Umm…kin or what?” Lance asked, snapping Lotor’s attention back to himself. “Who else is that level of trust reserved for?”

“It’s for kin and…self-chosen kin.” Lotor seemed to carefully choose his words, which only served to confuse the blue paladin.

“Wait, you mean like a really, really close friend?” Lance scratched his head as he thought. “Like how me and Hunk are like best bros even though we aren’t related. Or like how Shiro’s basically our space dad. Or how Coran’s Allura’s uncle but not by blood. Is it like that?”

“That’s…one definition, yes.” Lotor straightened up, collecting his expression in preparation to leave. “In any case you have given me a great deal to think about, Lance.”

Lotor headed towards the door as Lance stared after him, dumbfounded.

“I gave you a lot to think about simply for being a decent human being?” Lance called to him, making him stop in front of the now open door. Lotor looked back at him, his expression no different than any other day.

“Yes,” he said before stepping out the door and shutting it.

“Damn unappreciative prince,” Lance muttered to himself as he collected his things. “See if I do anything nice for him again.”

 

-

 

“I think I accidentally offended him or something,” Lance stated. He was laying the wrong way on Hunk’s bed, his feet propped up on the wall while his upper body hung off the edge. He watched from his upside-down perch as Hunk toyed with some sort of machinery across the fairly small room. Lance had no idea what it was and knew better than to ask. He probably wouldn’t understand the answer anyways.

“Lance, you accidentally offend half the people you meet,” Hunk replied, not looking up from his devise.

“Hey!”

“It’s true. You offended Pidge when you first met her. Said something about her being short and it put you on her shit list.” Hunk glanced back at Lance as the Cuban pouted. “You don’t think before you speak, and that leads to miscommunications. And sometimes some offended people.”

“But this is different. I didn’t even say anything!”

“Alright, I’ll bite,” Hunk put down the devise all together, spinning around to give Lance his undivided attention. “How could you have possibly offended Lotor by not saying anything?”

Lance stayed silent for a moment. He wasn’t sure if he should tell Hunk everything that went down over the last two days. He did make a promise after all. A promise to keep a secret that everyone knows and was never expected to keep in the first place. It wasn’t that hard of a decision, after all.

“Alright, promise you won’t tell anyone?” Lance asked seriously. “Like no one, ever. Unless I say it’s cool?”

“Yeah, no problem man.” Hunk holds up his right arm like he’s saying an oath. “I promise that not a living soul will hear about this. Unless you say it’s not a secret anymore. Then I’m telling everyone and they’re going to die laughing simply from the irony of it all. Of that I’m certain.”

“I’ll take it,” Lance said after a moment. He carefully flipped his legs forward to do a sort of hand stand next to the bed before landing, cross-legged, in front of the yellow paladin.

“I still don’t understand how you do that,” Hunk muttered to himself.

“Five years of gymnastics, my friend,” Lance said with a smile. “Anyways, do you remember yesterday how Shiro and Lotor disappeared for a few hours and they ended up going to the Krill Xena thing?”

“The Krel Zera. Yes. A little hard to forget considering all the weird stuff that was going down there. Like Sendak coming back from the grave to fight Lotor, and then Keith helping out for some reason. And the blue ex-general helping _him_ out for some reason.”

“Wait, Keith was there? What the hell! He didn’t even say hi! The blade’s teaching him bad manners, Hunk. They’re a horrible influence on him.”

“I think he had those to start with but I’m pretty sure that’s not what we were talking about here.”

“Oh, yeah. The Kelly Serious thing.”

“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you.”

“You see, I may have, possibly, been told about the whole thing before they left.”

Hunk stared at Lance, blinking slowly as he processed this.

“You what?”

“Lotor told me where he was going before they left. But he made me promise not to tell anyone. And you know how I am about promises. Those things are serious shit! I don’t mess around with promises,” Lance explained, finding it hard to stop once he started. “So I kept it. Even when Allura came over asking me if I’d seen Shiro. I told her no and she left.”

“Um, can we go back to why you made the promise in the first place? Like, I think you skipped that part because I’m pretty sure I didn’t hear it.”

“I was curious, alright! He offered to tell me if I promised and the curiosity was too overwhelming!”

“But come on! This is Lotor we’re talking about! I don’t care how curious you are or how many cats are in danger because of it. You shouldn’t make promises to him!”

“He’s not that bad once you get to know him,” Lance muttered, looking anywhere except Hunk. “Plus, that’s not even the weird part.”

“How could it get weirder than you keeping a promise for a guy you’re very animate about not trusting?” Hunk raised an eyebrow questioningly.

“Because I’m pretty sure I offended him by not telling anyone.”

“That…doesn’t make sense,” Hunk replied after a moment.

“I know!” Lance threw his hands in the air for emphasis. “Apparently galra’s have this weird thing about promises where no one expects them to be kept. And it doesn’t really make sense. At all.”

“So you offended Lotor by keeping a promise he didn’t think you’d keep.”

“Yes.”

“Why did you keep it to begin with?” Hunk asked. “I mean, yeah, you keep them most times, but his was a serious situation. We could have lost Shiro and his lion because of their stunt. Then we wouldn’t have been able to form Voltron. And the galra would take over the galaxy again. And we’d all be screwed. So, why didn’t you tell Allura when you had the chance? And don’t tell me that’s just what you do because I’ve seen you break promises for serious stuff that’s less serious than that.”

“I, um. I’m not sure,” Lance muttered, thinking through his reasoning for the first time since he made his decision. “I guess I figured he knew what he was talking about.”

“So you trust him?”

“No!” Lance replied immediately. Though, from Hunk’s expression, he didn’t look convinced. “Not really. It’s just he knows how the galra work. I figured I could trust him to know how to out-galra the galra.”

“And it has nothing to do with the fact you’ve been spending three hours a day with the guy for the past nine days?”

“No?” Lance said slowly, sounding as unsure about his words as he felt. “Maybe? I don’t know, man! He just doesn’t seem as bad now. He’s working with us, isn’t he? So maybe giving him a little trust isn’t such a bad thing.”

Hunk sighed, looking up at his ceiling like it had all the answers.

“Alright, I’m going to tell you this once.” Hunk leveled his head again to look at Lance, his face serious. “Be careful.”

“Of what?”

“Lotor. Be careful. I don’t know what’s going through his pretty little head of his, and I don’t really want to. At all. But he’s spending a lot of his personal time training you and you have a good deal of his attention even when he’s not,” Hunk stated. Lance furrowed his eyebrows, almost confused by his words, but didn’t interrupt. “I, as your best friend, am concerned about it. What concerns me more is that you seem to be giving him a lot of your attention as well.”

“What? No I’m-“

“Shoosh, I’m not done. And you are. You obviously find him attractive-“

“Dude, I’d have to be blind or straight not to find him attractive!”

“Yes. I know. What I’m saying is, just be careful. You develop crushes at the drop of a hat, and if you keep this up, you’re going to be crushing on Lotor before the end of the week.”

“You’re overexaggerating.” Lance crossed his arms defiantly. “I don’t crush on people that easily.”

“Allura, Keith, Nadia Rizavi, Ryan Kinkade, James Griffin…briefly. And that’s just from when we started at the garrison,” Hunk listed, holding up a finger for each name.

“Griffin barely counts. He was cute until he opened his mouth. Then he was an asshat,” Lance said, moping in his seat.

“So how about focusing more on the actual training, and less on the guy training you.”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll see what I can do.” Lance climbed to his feet and shuffled towards the door. “Thanks for hearing me out.”

“No problem,” Hunk said, going back to his devise as Lance opened the door. “Oh and Lance?”

Lance turned his head towards his friend with an affirmative hum.

“No more promises.”

“Well I guess I can’t promise that, now can I?” Lance said with a smirk.

“Lance you know what I mean.”

“Bye Hunk.” Lance waved as he exited the room.

“Lance, you-“ The door shut with a click, cutting off whatever Hunk was going to say. Lance was going to regret that later, but that wasn’t something he needed to worry about right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's my [tumblr](https://tblsomestories.tumblr.com/) in you feel like checking it out.


	6. Training Day 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Picking up Pickup Lines

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Here's the fabled 'Last chapter before I work on my other fic for a month.' It turned out quite a bit longer then normal because what was a supposed to be a simple conversation turned into some weird culture exchange between the two. And because of it, I'll admit, i'm a little uneasy about this chapter. Lance decided to start explaining some stuff that I myself am no expert on so if anyone notices anything wrong, let me know and i'll fix it immediately. Honestly, I've done some research but it still doesn't make me very confident in anything. 
> 
>  
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy,
> 
> TBL

It had been two days since Lance accidentally offended Lotor and he was being exceptionally careful not to do it again. When they were training, he focused completely on his work, not engaging Lotor in any conversation other than what was necessary for him to learn. Any other time he spent avoiding him or, if that was impossible, just ignoring his presence. He thought that he might be going a little overboard with it but it was making Hunk happy so it couldn’t be that bad.

On the other hand, Lotor seemed to be acting a little friendlier towards the blue paladin. Nothing much, just attempting to engage him in conversation throughout the day, passing him the seasoning at the dinner table. Just little things like he was making sure Lance knew he existed. It made ignoring the prince even more difficult. But Lance was determined, hoping that what he was doing would help keep everything normal. Or at least as normal as things can be when you’re taking sword lessons from an almost 10,000-year-old alien enemy turned ally, who’s actually really hot.

“Ah, hello Lance,” Lotor’s voice said, startling Lance out of his thoughts. The blue paladin was currently slumped at the dining room table trying to eat a late dinner without falling asleep. It wasn’t working so well since, up until right then, he had the entire room to himself.

He nodded briefly towards the galra prince before turning sluggishly back towards his food goo.

“I’m assuming you missed dinner as well?” Lotor asked. Lance watched him out of the corner of his eyes as he collected his own bowl, filling it with goo, and headed back towards the table.

“Training ran late,” he mumbled, trying to ignore Lotor as he took the seat across from him.

“You really shouldn’t train that much,” Lotor scolded, picking up his spoon and waving it lightly at the paladin. “You’re going to tire yourself out and then where would you be? Right back where you started.”

“I’m fine,” Lance replied curtly. “And it’s just a few times a week. I can’t ignore my rifle just because I have a sword as well. I’ll get rusty.”

“I still think you’re overdoing it with the training but it’s not my place to judge. At least not when it comes to your other weapons.” Lotor turned his attention back towards his meal. “But you should take it easy every so often. Your health is just as important as your growing combat skills.”

“Don’t you have an empire you should be running or something?” Lance asked with a sigh. Lotor paused, spoon held up in front of his mouth as he stared at Lance with a puzzled expression.

“Not yet, I still have a few movements before the public coronation.” Lotor took a bite of his meal before continuing. “Until then I can handle everything from the castle. Which is much of the reason I missed dinner this evening.”

“Good for you,” Lance muttered, stirring his meal lazily.

“Another reason I wasn’t there was because I hoped to speak you before our next training session,” Lotor said. Lance’s eyes snapped up to him, his fatigue fading as curiosity started to nag at him. “I feel like I may have offended you at some point during the last few days. Though, I am uncertain what that may have been, I wish to apologize for it regardless.”

“What?” Lance blinked at Lotor, unsure if he was hearing the purple man correctly.

“You have been avoiding me quite avidly for the past few quintents so I figured I have offended you in some way,” Lotor explained. Lance blinked again. “Therefore, I apologize for whatever I may have done to warrant this reaction.”

“But you haven’t done anything,” Lance stated, getting a confused look from Lotor. “I mean, I’m not offended. I just thought _I_ offended _you_ so I’ve been minding my own business so I wouldn’t do it again.”

“Why did you think I was offended?”

“The whole secret thing. You were pretty upset about it,” I stated. Understanding dawned in Lotor’s eyes. He let out a soft chuckle as an amused smirk danced across his lips. “I was wrong, wasn’t I?”

“Yes, yes you were.” Lotor propped an elbow up on the table, using his arm as a headrest. “In fact, I was not upset by that. Surprised? Yes. Confused? Definitely. Frustrated? A little. But I was not upset in the slightest.”

“So, everything’s still cool then?”

“Indeed, your worry was cute but ultimately unnecessary,” Lotor said with a smile. Lance turned his focus back onto his food goo if only to hide the light blush that was definitely not happening.

“Yeah, well it’s hard to tell sometimes,” Lance announced as Lotor ate some more of his food. “Galra and human cultures are so different that something that’s perfectly normal for my people be a grave offense on yours.”

“This is true,” Lotor said thoughtfully. “Or something normal for galras could be completely unheard of for your own people.”

“Exactly!” Lance pointed his spoon at Lotor, dropping some goo onto the table that neither seemed to notice. “So really, how was I supposed to know that it wasn’t some sort of grave offence, or something like that?”

“I see your point,” Lotor said with a hum. He sat there for a moment before continuing. “You know, this could be easily remedied.”

“How?”

“You could explain the basics of human culture to me and I will explain the basics of galra culture to you. An even exchange of information if you will,” Lotor suggested. “Maybe that would help make things a little less confusing.”

“That’s actually a pretty good idea- wait.” Lance narrowed his eyes at Lotor, though there was no real suspicion behind his gaze. “You aren’t just trying to learn about humans so to use it against us later, are you?”

“You caught me,” Lotor said, seemingly more amused by accusation then anything. “I will be using what I learn from you to insure my presence is tolerable by most of the residents of this castle. “Quite diabolical, is it not?”

“The worst,” Lance said with a grin of his own. He sat back in his chair bringing his hands behind his head as he did. “Alright, let’s talk about culture then. Though, I’ll warn you now, humans have a wide variety of them. And a variety of languages as well.”

“Not unheard of, especially for a species not yet capable of space travel.” Lotor placed his spoon onto the table, giving Lance his undivided attention. “But why don’t you start on your own culture and we can move on from there.”

“Sounds good to me. Now, where to start?”

 

-

 

“Let me get this straight,” Lotor said, leaning forward against the table, his pointer finger raised in the air questioningly. They have been sitting there for some time, their bowls both empty and long forgotten. “Your people tell your young to be weary of those they do not know, yet you have an entire festival dedicated to obscuring your identity and taking candy from similarly obscured people.”

“Well when you put it like that, yeah, Halloween sounds dumb. But it’s like my favorite holiday so you can suck it.” Lance had his feet up on the table as he leaned his chair back on its back two feet as he took a sip from his water pouch.

“Suck what?” Lotor asked innocently, making Lance almost fall out of his chair while simultaneously choking on his water.

“Nothing, nothing,” Lance wheezed out once wasn’t trying to breath water anymore. His face tinged pink as he set his drink on the table. “Just…forget I said anything. Damn, you almost killed me with that. Remind me not to say weird human sayings like that again because it’s not worth dying over.”

“Very well,” Lotor said with a chuckle. “You are quite the oddity, Lance.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“I’d say so. I like oddities. They make life interesting.” Lotor smiled at Lance, making the blue paladin look away awkwardly.

“Anyways! Moving swiftly forward!” Lance exclaimed, sitting up in his chair in an attempt to look all official and unflustered. It didn’t work. “What’s the next thing I’m explaining to you?”

“Hmm,” Lotor hummed in thought before an idea seemed to strike him. “Well, how about your species customs when it comes to romance?”

Lance was particularly happy he had put his water down because that’s the only reason he wasn’t doing a second spit take right now.

“What? Why that?” Lance was staring at Lotor like he had grown a second head, but the prince didn’t seem phased at all.

“It sounds like an intriguing topic and worth hearing about. After all, if I know your people’s romantic habits then I might be able to keep from accidentally giving any of your team the wrong idea.”

“Alright, you have a point, it’s just kind of awkward to talk about. Especially in depth. Like we’ve been doing to everything else,” Lance explained, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “But you’re right. It should be talked about. Um…I guess we’ll start with the general stuff then.”

Lotor nodded to show he was listening as Lance took a deep breath.

“For the most part human romantic relationships are for life. There are quite a few exceptions but ideally it’s two people meet, fall in love, get married, then live out the rest of their lives with each other.”

“I see,” Lotor said. “The Galra work much the same way, that is if ‘falling in love’ refers to developing romantic feelings for each other and if ‘get married’ is something like a mated blood oath.”

“Yeah, sounds about right.” Lance leaned back in his chair again, keeping all four of its legs on the floor this time. “Most marriages are between a male and a female since that’s the only way our species can reproduce without science stepping in. But that’s not to say we don’t have a lot of different pairings too. With different, um, sexual preferences. I mean, look at Voltron for example. I’m not sure any of us are straight.”

“What do you mean by straight?”

“None of us stick exclusively to the male/female relationship mold,” Lance said, crossing his arms almost defensively. His voice stayed confident as he continued, much to his relief. “I’m bi, which basically means I like both genders. Shiro definitely gay, meaning he likes other men exclusively. He was going to marry a man named Adam, which was one of my instructors oddly enough, before the Galra kidnapped him. And I know for a fact Keith’s gay because I caught him ogling one of my male crushes back in the garrison. Which might be why I started a rivalry with the guy.

“Anyways, Pidge is ace, which means she’s not attracted to anyone in that way. Though the way she eyes her technology has me worried sometimes. That’s a joke by the way. Just so we’re clear. Oh, and Hunk is pan, which means he likes people regardless of gender. So, long story short, none of us are straight, which shouldn’t be a very big surprise considering we’re pilots of a ‘pride’ of rainbow-colored lions.”

Lance chuckled to himself, as Lotor thought for a moment.

“I don’t understand what Voltron has to do with this but I assume that’s one of your jokes, correct?” Lotor asked. Lance nodded. “Alright, but what I don’t understand is why do you label yourself in such a way? Wouldn’t it be easier just to be who you are rather than try to fit yourself to a title that might not be correct?”

“It’s complicated,” Lance said slowly, giving himself time to think. “Humans like naming things so they name EVERYTHING. That and it helps people feel like they have a place. And that their feelings are valid because there is a name for them.”

“That’s understandable,” Lotor said with a nod. “Is it a fairly big deal on your planet? That your romantic tastes are different then what’s considered standard?”

“Kind of? Not really as much anymore but it can still be hard. I mean, I figured mine out for myself when I was fourteen and developed a crush on a very good-looking male astronaut. Which turned out to be Shiro. But that’s beside the point,” Lance exclaimed upon noticing Lotor’s raised eyebrow. “The point is I’ve known for three, probably four years and I haven’t felt comfortable telling my family yet. They’re pretty traditional so I’m not sure how they’d react to it.”

“But your team knows, correct?”

“Oh yeah. Hunk’s known since the garrison but everyone else found out pretty early on. By accident, of course, but yeah.” Lance scratched the back of his head awkwardly, catching sight of Lotor’s curious gaze in the process. He sighed. “It’s a pretty funny story actually. Pidge said something about me having to think straight to form Voltron and my big mouth said ‘well then we’re screwed because I haven’t thought straight since I was fourteen.’ And that’s how everyone here found out I was bi.”

Lotor chuckled, making Lance happy that his joke was appreciated. Before he remembered what he was supposed to be talking about, anyways.

“Shit, we’re off track,” Lance groaned. “We’re supposed to be talking about romance stuff, not my sexual preference.”

“Though I did find it to be very informative so the slight detour couldn’t have been that bad,” Lotor stated with a smile. “I believe by your culture’s standards, I’d be fall under the category of gay.”

“So…you like guys?”

“Yes. Is that surprising?”

“Not really. It kind of makes sense actually,” Lance said, filing that information away for another time. “Anyways, what else do you want to know?”

“How does your species initiate a romantic relationship?” Lotor asked, sounding almost as if he had the question ready for a while now.

“Oh, well it depends on the people really,” Lance replied. “Some take their time, becoming close friends before one of them confesses to having romantic feelings for the other. Some meet up with the specific goal of building a romantic relationship. As I said, it depends.”

“How do you personally go about it?”

“Um, well I sort of go for the second way. If I see someone I like the looks of, most times I let them know. Afterall, the worst they can do is say no.” Lance shrugged awkwardly. “Actually, my favorite thing is pickup lines. Most think they’re lame or super corny but I love them.”

“What are pickup lines?”

“Oh they’re these neat lines that people come up with that are mostly just puns that flatter the other person. You usually use them when you’re meeting a person for the first time and you want them to know you’re interested,” Lance said happily. “They don’t work very well but they’re still my favorite.”

“Can I have some examples?”

“Oh yeah! Sure,” Lance said, grinning like a mad man. “Let’s see if I have any good ones that wouldn’t need explaining. Ok, got some. ‘Even if there wasn’t any gravity in the castle, I’d still be falling for you.’”

“Falling for?”

“Nevermind. Here’s another. ‘Are you a thief, because you’ve stolen my heart!’”

“Why would stealing organs be considered romantic?”

“It’s a metaphor. I think. Just forget about that one. I’ve got more,” Lance waved it away, missing the small grin on Lotor’s face. “How bout this, ‘Are you from outer space? Because your body is out of this word!’”

“I kind of like that one.”

“Yeah, Blue used to like it too. That was her favorite.” Lance smiled fondly at he thought of his previous lion.

“May I try one?”

“Go ahead.” Lance leaned forward, resting his head on his hands. “Let’s see what you got.”

Lotor thought for a moment before leaning forward as well, looking Lance straight in the eyes.

“If I had a star for every time you brightened my day, I'd have a galaxy in my hand,” Lotor said, his voice little more than a whisper.

Lance’s brain stopped working right then. His heart and lungs too, but only for a moment. All he could do is stare at this man who had no right to be this smooth with his words. Lance could feel a familiar feeling beginning to take root in his chest, and he already knew exactly who was responsible for it.

“How was that?” Lotor asked, snapping Lance out of his stupor.

“Huh?”

“The pickup line. How was it?”

“Oh that, yeah. Good. Great even. I think you got the idea down pretty well.” Lance stumbled on his words as he sat up, and began fidgeting with the empty bowl next to him. “Anyways, I just remembered that I have something I have to be doing like right now. So I have to go.”

“It’s not training, is it?” Lotor inquired as Lance stood up, bowl in hand.

“Nope, no. Not training,” Lance said. “Hunk has something I need to help him with. That I forgot about. So I’m going to go find him. Now.”

“Very well,” Lotor agreed, watching Lance drop his bowl into the sink as he scurried towards the door. “We can continue this conversation some other time.”

“Yeah. Sure. Sounds great. Good night.” Lance threw a small wave over his shoulder before disappearing out the room. He immediately headed towards Hunk’s room, hoping his friend was there. Because the only one that could possibly help him deal with his newly discovered crush on Lotor, was the one guy that told him not to start crushing on Lotor.

Hunk was going to have is head for this. He was sure of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's my [tumblr](https://tblsomestories.tumblr.com/) in you feel like checking it out.


	7. Training Day 11. still.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance Locked out!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Guess who's back from NaNoWriMo? Yup that's me! So here's my new (kinda mini) chapter. I wrote it more to get back in the mindset than anything, but I really like it. Just a fun little moment between Lance and Hunk because why not.
> 
>  
> 
> anyways, thanks for you patience and hope you enjoy!
> 
> TBL

“Hunk! You gadda help me! Please man, you’re my only hope!” Lance banged on Hunk’s door hoping his friend would answer. He heard an annoyed groan come from inside before the it opened to reveal a pajama clad yellow paladin standing on the other side.

“What is it now? It better be good because you’re kinda on my shit list for missing dinner,” Hunk replied, eyebrow raised in scrutiny.

“Yes, and I’m very sorry about that but-“

“It was a good one too. One of my best. Everyone finished it off before I could even ask ‘hey where’s Lance?’ Seriously, I’m really getting tired of all this Keith imitation stunts.”

“For the last time, I’m not copying Keith! Why the hell would I do that?”

“Because you’ve had a crush on him since he punched James in the face. And you miss him.”

“I do not!” Lance exclaimed. Hunk crossed his arms, making the blue paladin’s resolve falter immediately. “Alright, I will admit that I did feel a bit betrayed when he decided to give us all the middle finger by opting to do suicide missions with the galra instead of staying with Voltron. But that’s not why I’ve been training so much. And that’s not what I’m here to talk about!

“This thing’s serious Hunk! I need help,” Lance whined, giving Hunk his best set of puppy dog eyes. But his best friend had apparently developed an immunity at some point because he didn’t even look phased.

“Yeah, help finding the dining room at dinner time,” Hunk replied.

“Please!” Lance clasped his hands together under his chin, trying to up his charm. Hunk sighed, rolling his eyes at the blue paladin all but begging in front of him.

“Fine, what is it?” Hunk finally relented.

“I’ve got a crush on Lotor.”

There was a single silent moment between the two as Lance waited for a response from his friend.

“No.” The door snapped shut with a bang, leaving Lance on the wrong side of it.

“Come on man! I have no idea what to do about this!”

“I’m not helping you Lance,” Hunk replied through the now closed door. “I told you, didn’t I? I said be careful our you’d develop a crush on the guy. But you didn’t listen. So, now I’m not helping you.”

“It wasn’t my fault! I tried to ignore him but then we got talking at dinner-“

“You had dinner with him? Instead of coming to mine?!” Hunk accused, making Lance backpedal slightly.

“It’s not like that! I was having dinner and then he came in for dinner and then we started talking over our dinners.” Lance waved his hands defensively as if the other boy could see him through the door. Though it wasn’t impossible to think he might have some sort of security camera installed out there. He and Pidge hung out a lot so her need for constant surveillance could have easily rubbed off on him. “Then I may have told him about pickup lines, which made him wanted to try one. And damn it, Hunk, is should be illegal to use lines that smooth because he just tried one and I was _gone._ ”

There was silence on the other side of the door, that made Lance uneasy. After a long, very stressful few seconds, the door slid back open, Hunk standing on the other side, his expression as flat as a board.

“Let me get this straight,” Hunk said slowly, finger raised in emphasis. Lance shifted nervously as he spoke. “You taught Lotor, the guy you already thought was super attractive, about pickup lines, your biggest romantic weakness, and you’re surprised you developed a crush on him?”

“Yes?”

“I’m done with you.” Hunk shut the door once again. “So, done Lance!”

“But Hunk!” Lance flopped against the closed door, trying to get his friend’s attention once again. “My dude! My man! My bestest of bros! Don’t leave me hanging like this!”

“You deserve what you get Lance!” Hunk.

“Please let me in!”

“No!”

“But you wouldn’t leave me, your best friend, out here all alone would you?” Lance called, trying to sound as innocent as possible. When he didn’t get an answer, he continued. “All alone in the dark, scary wilderness. With not even a stick for protection!”

“Stop being dramatic! The ship hasn’t even gone into its night cycle yet!”

“But it’s so cold out here!”

“No, it’s not. I was just out there. You’re fine.”

“But I could die.”

“Then perish.”

“Damn it, Hunk! I’m the one that taught you that! You can’t use it against me like this!”

“Just did.”

“I’ve been betrayed!” Lance slowly slid to the floor, making sure his hands dragged enough against the door to make a lout squeaking sound that echoed through the corridor. “I don’t know if I can survive such horrible, back stabbing words! My live is flashing before my eyes. This is the end, I’m sure of it. Et tu Brute! Et Tu!”

“For pete’s sake just let him in already!” Pidge yelled down the hallway, her head stick out her bedroom door. “Some of us are trying to get work done, which it’s not going to happen with that idiot caterwauling all night long!”

Hunk’s door snapped open, sending Lance sprawling across the bedroom floor with Hunk standing over him, just as exasperated as then he saw him last. Which was a few minutes ago.

“You came back!”

“We’re going to have a very long talk about this whole thing.”

“As long as it helps me figure out what to do, I don’t really care.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's my [tumblr](https://tblsomestories.tumblr.com/) in you feel like checking it out.

**Author's Note:**

> Here's my [tumblr](https://tblsomestories.tumblr.com/) in you feel like checking it out.


End file.
